Lukes holds up motion on slots

Thursday

Apr 11, 2013 at 6:00 AMApr 11, 2013 at 1:28 PM

By Nick Kotsopoulos TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Ten of the 11 city councilors are supporting a motion authorizing City Manager Michael V. O’Brien to negotiate a host agreement with the group that wants to develop a slots parlor on the 14-acre Wyman-Gordon property on Madison Street.

In a statement released Wednesday, Mayor Joseph M. Petty said the order, which will be voted on by the City Council at its April 23 meeting, is not an endorsement by the council of the proposed slots parlor.

Instead, he said, the intent of the council action is to get a host agreement negotiated so it can then be put “before the people of this community so that they may exercise their right to be educated and to vote on this all-important topic.”

Councilor-at-Large Konstantina B. Lukes, the lone councilor not endorsing the order, is the only member to publicly come out against the slots parlor proposal.

“This order is to request the city manager to negotiate the best host agreement on behalf of the residents,” Mr. Petty said in his statement. “It is not our purview to decide if gaming is right or wrong or should or shouldn’t happen.

“Gaming is coming to Massachusetts — that is a fact,” he continued. “What is our purview is to make sure the developers who have selected Worcester as their preferred location have a full understanding of our community.

“This decision will not be one forced down upon anyone. Nor will it be without significant public participation and nor will it be anyone but the voters who ultimately decide if we have a slot parlor in the City.”

Mrs. Lukes said Wednesday that the statement by Mr. Petty has prompted her to file a complaint. She said she contacted the attorney general’s office and, after being told to contact the local governing body, she filed the complaint with the city clerk’s office alleging an Open Meeting Law violation.

“When 10 people sign on to this statement, what that means is they were deliberating but it was not done in an open meeting,” she said. “It counts as a deliberation because 10 people were acting in unison.”

Mrs. Lukes said she was not asked whether she wanted to endorse the order.

The mayor said the City Council does pledge to fight for the best agreement the city can get. He said it also pledges to make sure that every voter in the city has accurate information to make an informed decision at the polls.

Mass Gaming & Entertainment LLC, one of four applicants for the only slots license that will be awarded by the state, recently announced its selection of the Wyman-Gordon property as the location for its “destination gaming facility.”

The $240 million project, which would include a 120,000-square-foot building that would also house two restaurants, a food court, a bar and possibly a day spa, is viewed by some as an economic boost that would bring as many as 600 jobs to the city.

Meanwhile, the hotel, which would be built on a yet-to-be-disclosed downtown site, would include restaurants, meetings rooms and a ballroom.

The council Tuesday night set into motion a vote to authorize the city manager to negotiate a host agreement.

Mr. Eddy introduced an order to have the council take such a vote, which would in effect set the stage for either advancing or scuttling the slots proposal.

But the council vote never took place. Mrs. Lukes exercised her right under the council’s rules to hold the item until its next meeting, scheduled for April 23.

Based on information it received from the city administration the previous week about the process that has to be followed regarding the gaming issue, the council was under the impression that it had no say on the matter as a collective body.

Instead, members believed the first thing that had to be done was to have the city manager negotiate a host agreement with the developer. That host agreement would then be put before the voters in a referendum election.

But Mr. Rushton said he asked for clarification of the council’s role after reading a newspaper story regarding a casino proposal in Milford. The Milford Board of Selectmen has indicated that it might choose not to move forward or enter into a host agreement with a casino developer there because of unresolved issues.

City Solicitor David M. Moore told the City Council Tuesday night that the city manager is responsible for negotiating and signing the host agreement. It also does not require council approval.

But the council can take a vote on authorizing the city manager to move forward with the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Lukes, who referred to the council discussion on the matter Tuesday night as nothing more than “gobbledygook,” said city councilors are failing to provide leadership on the issue by not taking a stand one way or other on the gaming issue.

She said she held Mr. Eddy’s motion Tuesday because the council was taking a stand on the issue by using “convoluted language.”

“This is getting much more heated as time goes on,” she said Wednesday. “This will be combative and emotional until the election is held.”

Bob Kievra of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.